Bailout

Many were unaware and many who knew have forgotten how Senator Rubio effectively shortened the life of Obamacare. When Obama proposed his new plan the insurance companies backed the idea because they would get the promised 31 million new customers and if they lost money the government would reimburse their losses through what was referred to as the bailout clause. They knew that losses were likely because the plan removed the preexisting condition clause. When congress passed the spending bill in December 2014, Rubio attached a rider that passed without anyone noticing that removed the bailout and when insurance companies started losing money they one by one dropped out of the plan.

Cadillac plans

One of the hot debate topics was single payer health care sometimes called Medicare for all. The major objection regarding this approach is that private health insurance will be eliminated. This will affect some 170 million people and one sub group in particular, that being private union contracts. These union people, mostly living in mid America, have given up wage increases in the past in order to have what are called Cadillac plans. These are low deductible and low cost plans that cover most everything. They will be asked to give these up and all the sacrifices they made in the past will have been to no avail.

Baltimore

Baltimore is in the news these days because of a feud between Trump and Representative Cummings but one area that is not mentioned is education. The graduation rate of 70% seems odd when only 11% of graduates are proficient in math and reading. This statistic includes the west side of the city where almost all are students of color and the east side where it is almost exclusively white. The stats for the west side alone are much more disappointing. Here is one stat. 13 Baltimore City High Schools, zero students proficient in math How is this even possible. Maybe with all of this attention some changes will be made. When questioned about this the people in charge responded by saying: “These results underscore the urgency of the work we are now pursuing. We must do more to meet the needs of all our students.” I wish them luck.

Saudi arms

At the end of WW 2 the US owned more than half of the worlds gold and this allowed the dollar to be the premier currency. Times changed and the Viet Nam war force the US to print more money and in 1971 Nixon ended the gold standard. The US was concerned about protecting the dollar so they made an agreement with Saudi Arabia regarding the sale of oil. The US agree to sell arms to the Saudies and to protect their oil fields from outside invaders if the Saudies agreed to sell oil only in dollars. This meant that if a country like Germany wanted to buy Saudi oil they had to pay for it with US dollars which means they had to sell stuff to the US to get dollars and the same was true for all countries. The dollar today still remains the currency of the world. The US is now planning to sell additional arms to Saudi Arabia and some in congress are objecting. Saudi Arabia will buy arms to protect themselves so it is best they buy from the US. Not only does the US get the business but any spare parts needed to keep the armaments operative must be purchased from the US. This allows the US to maintain some degree of control over how these arms are used.

King

Rodney King was an African American born in LA in 1965. In 1991 he was arrested for drunken driving and for fleeing and evading. He was caught and severely beaten by four police officers. He was awarded $3.8 million. His father had been a violent alcoholic and King himself suffered from the disease. In 1989 he robbed a store threatening the store owner with a wooden bat. He was caught and served one year in prison. He was married three times and had a child with each wife. He died in 2011 from alcohol poisoning with his estate valued at $250,000. When the officers that beat him were acquitted there were riots. "the riots had resulted in 63 deaths, 2,383 injuries, more than 7,000 fires, damage to 3,100 businesses, and nearly $1 billion in financial losses". He later appeared on a TV show where he posed the question, why can't we all just get along. That is a question that has live through the ages and is alive today.

East Germany

At the end of WW 2 Germany was pretty much destroyed and when the Soviet Union took over Eastern Europe that included about one-third of Germany which became known as East Germany and remained that way until the Soviet Union collapsed in 1989. During those years the East was socialist and the West was capitalist. The population of East Germany declined from 18 million in 1949 when the country was founded to 16 million in 1990 when the country ended. GDP per-capita in 1989 was $9,700. The population of West Germany was 51 million in 1949 and grew to 63 million by 1989 and in 1989 the GDP was $17,800. This is one more example of how the free market promotes growth. Give people the freedom to self promote and the country will prosper.

Believe and achieve

Science fiction writers are often ahead of their time. Even Dick Tracy's two way radio wrist watch was considered a pipe dream in my youth. The possibilities of the human mind are not understood but some say are limitless. Dr. Norman Vincent Peal said what the mind can conceive and believe it can achieve. Every man made object in the world today was at one time just an idea in someone's head. The stumbling block for most is in the believing part. According to Dr. Peal a man could move from one location to another just by thinking it so but to most the laws of physics supersede the belief system and such ideas are cast aside without any further thought. Throughout history there have been unexplained phenomenon. It is common to refer to such things as miracles but that is because the laws of physics cannot explain them. When you think of the progress that has been made in just the time since this country was founded let your imagination roam and think of what lies ahead. Suppose there is intelligent life on other planets in the cosmos and some of these are millions or perhaps billions of years older than earth. What powers have these minds developed. Have they long ago overcome the laws of physics and are performing feats that seem all but impossible to us here on earth. Perhaps they can visit us without using the normal means of transportation so that time and space no longer limit their movement.

New immigrants

The democratic candidates are not for open borders at least directly. What many are for is allowing people in and then having them go through some process to determine their status. This is somewhat the current practice. People who claim asylum must follow certain steps which is finalized with a court judgment. People from 60 countries have crossed the southern border and this will likely become known to others in those countries and lead to more people finding their way here from various points around the world. Gallop found that 750 million people want to relocate mostly for better jobs and the United States with 158 million is the most popular destination. It is a common practice that when people come here they soon want their relatives to come and this is called chain migration. It is estimated that each new immigrant will bring in 1.2 new people through this process.

Test tube babies

Genetic testing is becoming more popular, more accurate and less expensive which means more and more people will use this new technology not only for themselves but for in the womb testing. These markers called SNP's (single nucleotide polymorphisms) are used to predict certain diseases. Prenatal testing is used to detect changes in a fetus's genes or chromosomes before birth. This type of testing is offered during pregnancy if there is an increased risk that the baby will have a genetic or chromosomal disorder. In some cases, prenatal testing can lessen a couple's uncertainty or help them make decisions about a pregnancy. As more tests are developed and the confidence in their accuracy increases more and more parents, looking for the perfect baby, will chose to abort and try again. In time such testing will be done on lab created embryos and the decision to go ahead will be made by keeping or destroying and embryo. Eventually test tube babies will become the norm.

Hearings

I started watching the Mueller hearings this AM and my thoughts drifted back to the 50's during the McCarthy hearings and all I remember is how impressed I was with his lawyer Roy Cohn. Then I thought about the Watergate hearings and my most important memory is when Alexander Butterfield said in answer to a question that he would check the tapes after which there was stunned silence for about ten seconds and then someone said, what tapes. The most important aspect of today's hearings is that they will just last for one day.

Racist

When Trump came into office, he said he would not touch social security or Medicare and that the budget deficit would take care of itself. He thus removed three of the main things that democrats used to hold over the president. Next the economy started booming and so that eliminated that. There are no ads saying that republicans want to throw grandma over the cliff or they want to starve children. Instead republicans are just racist who want to put down various minorities. This is a continuation of past practices when republican candidates were called racist even clean cut Romney. News favorite John McCain was OK until he ran for president and then he was called racist. It is difficult to prove you are not racist.

The other cheek

On the news today were pics of police officers in New York having buckets of water poured over their heads while they were trying to make an arrest. It was mindful of US sailors kneeling before Iranis a couple of years ago. I suppose this is called turning the other cheek.

NOK subs

Much of the news surrounding North Korea is about their long range missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons that could reach the United States. This threat can be counteracted with anti missile weapons but they are developing submarines that can carry nukes and this the US has no defense against. Once they get that they can say OK you can defeat us in a war but not before will wipe out a couple of major US cities. There is at this time, no defense against a nuke sub just off the coast of LA firing a missile. This is in the news today. North Korea has a large submarine fleet but only one known experimental submarine capable of carrying a ballistic missile.Analysts said that based on the apparent size of the new submarine it appears designed to eventually carry missiles.

Too old

Over the past ten or so years, I have applied for a number of jobs, for which I was qualified for based on education and experience but to no avail. Laws about age discrimination are routinely ignored and not much is done about it. We only hire the best qualified people but you are over qualified. This has now spread into politics. Many people like Joe Biden as a person and his experience is over a life time but he is over qualified. Many like Bernie Sanders for the same reasons but he is over qualified. Just as people should not be discounted because of their skin color they should not be discounted for their age. Many of the same people who would be aghast if a candidate was disqualified based on race will openly say that Joe and/or Bernie are too old. They don't base this on the candidates ability to meet the demands of the job but just because of their age.

Too big to fail

As we approach the tenth anniversary of Dodd/Frank, the legislation that was designed to prevent another bank melt down as occurred in 2008, the big banks are bigger. Too big to fail is now bigger than before. Many new regulations were introduced and more often than not they adversely affected small banks placing more burdens on them. Chase and JP Morgan joined forces in 2000 with a combined worth of $600 billion. As of June 2019 Morgan was worth $2.74 trillion.

Gas vs electric

A city in California has banned the use of natural gas and this is the same environmental mistake that those who propose electric cars are making. If you cannot heat your house with natural gas the obvious substitute is electric and this poses the question, where does the electric come from. In California 45% of electric power comes from natural gas. A chemist will tell you that when you change natural gas into electric power and use that as a substitute for natural gas you are wasting energy. Californians use more gasoline per car than other places because of the long commutes. If they want to help the environment they should switch from gasoline to natural gas for their transportation needs. The same advise applies to the rest of the world. Once again politics has clouded good judgment.

Banned words

What started in the schools as correct speech is spreading to the general population. Teachers were slowly robbed of their first amendment rights where various subjects were considered off limits, things like religion and politics but on a regular basis new words are presented as off limits for the rest of the people. These are words that are considered hurtful to one group or another and list is growing. People are castigated for using these words. Years ago comedian George Carlin came out with his seven dirty words and that list has now expanded to hundreds, many of which are banned because they are gender specific. The public has quietly agreed to the censorship for fear of being called insensitive.

Fair pay

Senator Sanders allowed his campaign workers to form a union and now they are asking for more pay. They are working long hours and not earning $15 per hour so his solution is to cut the hours. I worked in a manufacturing plant that had a cafeteria and one year part of the negotiations was that the union would take over running the cafeteria. The first thing they did was to hire all new people and to pay them lower wages. I had a friend who was head of the local teamsters for many years and was always a tough negotiator. When he retired he became county commissioner and negotiated tough with the teamsters. Things like this change based on your perspective. It is easy to tell others how they should treat employees when it is not your money. This is one of the complaints about public unions. They are negotiating with taxpayer money.

Good life

Aside from who your parents were, the most important factor surrounding your birth is where you were born. If you were fortunate enough to be born in the good ole USA, you are one of a select few on this planet that has everything going for you. Even if you were born in the middle of the depression like I was, you still had a life far better than most around the world. As a child war never came to your house and you could always speak your mind and move about the country as you wish. Even today the poorest among us is better off than most people because we have the constitution. We have a representative republic which means the least of us is protected by law from the majority. The country has a way to go but as of today things are looking good. It is good to recognize our shortcomings and better if you plan to do something about them but there should always be time to count you blessings.

Better red

During the early years of the cold war, Khrushchev bragged that communism would outlast capitalism. The goals of equality would win out over the winners and losers that the free market was breeding. Many people around the globe were falling under the spell of this egalitarian view of a world wide middle class. Here in the US, communism was gaining in popularity and the phrase better red than dead meant that it was better to share the wealth than to risk war. It was common to point out the many problems in the US especially in the areas of race and income inequality and how communism would minimize and even eliminate these scars. During the 80's many people were fearful that Reagan would start a war and were more comfortable with Gorbachev. When the wall came down some of these people found new homes in the environmental movement and many remain there today. They blame the US for climate change even though the US is leading the green way. Some of the fringe in this group end up blaming the US for all sorts of unrelated problems.

Good paying jobs

On Morning Joe this AM Thomas Friedman offers advice to democrats.“Dear Democrats: This is not complicated! Just nominate a decent, sane person, one committed to reunifying the country and creating more good jobs". This makes sense and many seem to be decent and sane but ranting against Trump is not unifying. 65% of new jobs are created by small business but there are no policies presented that will help small business. The one proposal is to raise taxes on business and the rest involve redistribution of income and wealth. As is often stated the best welfare plan is a good paying job.

End of the world

For all of my adult life people have said that the government can't keep spending more than it is taking in because it will lead to financial collapse and it will be the end of our world as we know it. In 1977 there was a two day back out in New York City and people said it was only a matter of time until the same thing happened across the country and it will be the end of the world as we know it. About 30 years ago environmentalist said that climate change will wreck havoc on the globe and it will be the end of the world as we know it. The only one of these areas that the country has made progress is in climate change and this was done by moving away from coal to natural gas. The country is presently in a bind because to fix the last two means more debt on the first one. The one solution on the horizon is the development of controlled fusion. This will solve all three problems because it means the production of almost limitless electric power without using fossil fuels. What can the average person do? They can push for more interest in fusion. They can push for more exports of natural gas to Asia and Africa. They can push using natural gas for transportation.

Why Trump won

On Morning Joe this AM, they opened the show with the latest reason why Trump became president. They say it was because the other nominees in 2016 were afraid to challenge Trump. They saw how he attacked those who went after him and were intimidated. This follows the critics who said Trump won because Hilary was a weak candidate which was followed by Russian interference. The 2016 loss is still an open wound and will probably be that right on through the 2020 election and if Trump wins it will likely continue after that. It makes it difficult for those who oppose Trump to evaluate any issue objectively. Areas like low unemployment, prison reform and going after big Pharma, areas that opponents would normally champion, will just be ignored while personality traits will be emphasized with not being presidential being center stage. Policy will be replaced by likability.

Amazon on top

Amazon has taken its rightful place as the latest in a long line of villains. When I was growing up it was ATnT, which was this big company that was ripping off the consumer. They were later replaced by Microsoft and then it was Walmart's turn. Amazon is in a double bind. They are moving out of Seattle and the city is fine with that. Amazon pays such high salaries to their techies that the cost of housing has risen to the point where the average person cannot buy a home. Their new home will be Bellevue just across the lake from Seattle. The Bellevue mayor is welcoming the company with open arms. Meanwhile lower paid employees who are now getting the long desired $15 per hour are going on strike for better working conditions while Trump has expressed displeasure with the company. Welcome to the top Amazon.

Chian

In 1978 China opened its economy to the forces of the free market and all of the experts predicted that economic freedom will lead to political freedom but it hasn't happened. Recent activities in Hong Kong will once again test this theory but in reverse. Hong Kong was ruled by England and developed under the free market capitalist system. It grew from a farming area into a huge business center. Many people became wealthy but the poor also benefited and today the average income is $65,000 which is more than the US. China is now trying to curtail the political freedom that the people of Hong Kong have enjoyed and the people are protesting in the streets. China will either take over by force or risk the freedom in the small area spreading to Mainland China. The taste of freedom is powerful force.

Hong Kong

In 1978 China opened its economy to the forces of the free market and all of the experts predicted that economic freedom will lead to political freedom but it hasn't happened. Recent activities in Hong Kong will once again test this theory but in reverse. Hong Kong was ruled by England and developed under the free market capitalist system. It grew from a farming area into a huge business center. Many people became wealthy but the poor also benefited and today the average income is $65,000 which is more than the US. China is now trying to curtail the political freedom that the people of Hong Kong have enjoyed and the people are protesting in the streets. China will either take over by force or risk the freedom in the small area spreading to Mainland China. The taste of freedom is powerful force.

Change

The low ratings afforded congress give credence to the idea of the swamp but Washington is not alone. A couple years back Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein was charged with sexual misconduct and more than 80 victims came forward. Afterwards many well known people came out saying they knew of his activities but no one came forward to expose his behavior. Is there a Hollywood swamp. In the past ten or so years many priest have been convicted of various forms of child molesting and it was revealed that many higher ups in the church new of this activity but did nothing about it. Is there a Catholic Church swamp. In the past week billionaire Jeff Epstein was charged with sex trafficking and soon the news was filled with the many famous people to whom he befriended and how many others knew of his activities involving teenage girls. Is a new swamp unfolding here? For the past ten years or so some groups of people have seen America as a place in moral decline and these swamps only exacerbate this feeling. These groups concentrate on the failings of the country and see everything through a jaundice eye and yet there is much to be thankful and most people can see the good in America. Though there are failings there are many more successes You need only count your blessings and the world looks different. When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.

New Orleans

New Orleans is a city that is 60% below sea level and it is surrounded by water with Lake Pontchartrain on the north, Lake Borgne on the east, the Mississippi River on the west and the Gulf of Mexico on the south. They have pumps capable of removing water at the rate of one-half inch per hour so if the rain comes down faster which is often the case the city will flood. Also pumps are often put out of commission by rising flood waters do to improper engineering. For many years the federal government sent money to build up the levees but much of the money was spent on various benefit programs which helped reelect local politicians. This all came to light when Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. In the aftermath four city officials were asked to resign but not much else happened. Since that time more money was sent to secure the city and this current storm will test that out.

Racism

To quote Reverend Wight, the chickens have come home to roost. Calling people racist has been so common in recent years that it finally came home to the democrats. Kamala Harris accused Biden of being racist for opposing busing and working with racist senators and AOC accused Pelosi of racism. AOC then came out publicly to accuse Pelosi of racism saying Pelosi was “outright disrespectful” and “singling out … newly elected women of color.” The charge of racism has been thrown around so freely that it has lost its sting and for many that is progress.

Tax and spend

Back in the FDR administration a close adviser Harry Hopkins said, tax, tax, tax, spend, spend, spend, elect, elect, elect. This later morphed in to tax and spend and this is the reputation that has followed democrats ever since. They did succeed in dropping the elect. This policy is in the forefront of today's democratic party. We have raising the income tax, increasing payroll tax, value added tax, gas tax, wealth tax, financial transaction tax, estate tax, surtax on incomes over $150,000, tax on drug companies, marijuana tax, raising capital gains tax, a war tax to help Vets, taxing off shore money and carbon tax. On the spending side we have $1,000 per month to every adult, free college tuition, pay off student debt, free healthcare, increase child tax credit to $3,600, $4,800 tax credit for renters, increase the earned income tax credit from $6,500 to $8,000, tax credits for job training, $2,000 tax credit for teachers, increase child care benefit to $6,000, democracy dollars for you favorite candidate, $6,000 tax credit to families earning less than $100,000, $3,000 tax credit to working family care givers and removing tax on social security benefits.

Solar panels

The use of solar panels for homes is recommended by the environmentalist but there are unintended consequences. The Smiths have a family income of $400,000 and they pay $100,000 in income taxes. They live in a large home in the burbs where they want to install solar panels. The chose to put them on the lot next to their home at a cost of $50,000. They will receive a $30,000 tax credit meaning they will only pay $70,000 in taxes this year. This credit is called non-refundable because you can only take credits up to the amount of tax you owe. These panels not only save the Smiths $200 per month on their electric bill they generate excess power which is sold back to the power company giving the Smiths an extra $100 per month. The Jones earn $60,000 per year but they pay no income tax so if they want to install panels they get no tax credit so they are not interested. The power company now has to charge more for their product and thus the low income Jones are subsidizing the high income Smiths. Don't worry though because the Smiths neighbors object to the panels as they are ugly and will lower the value of their homes. These are the same neighbors who live in large houses with large lots and commute to work in their large cars.

Going green

Since 2000 the US has doubled its natural gas production and reduce methane emissions by 16%. All the new wells are designed to minimize any leaks. While CO2 emissions have increase by 65% world wide, the US has held constant even though the population increased by 85 million people. Most of this reduction can be attributed to changing coal fired power plants over to natural gas. Further reductions are possible by going to natural gas for transportation.

Deportations

When an asylum seeker enters the country there is a lengthy, complicated process of filling out forms and appearing before various officials. After all of this is concluded and the seeker is found not to be eligible for asylum he/she is ordered deported. There are currently one million people in this category. Between 2009 and 2015 his administration has removed more than 2.5 million people through immigration orders, which doesn’t include the number of people who "self-deported" or were turned away and/or returned to their home country at the border by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). President Obama who was called deported in chief still left a backlog which has now grown to over one million. These people must either be deported or the law must be changed but the law cannot be ignored.

Money

The need for money to maintain a political campaign is greatest during the early stages as lack of money is the reason most drop out. Once the nominees are determined the need for money is of less importance as was shown in the last election where Hilary Clinton spent twice what Trump did $1,191 million vs $646 million of which Trump himself donated $66 million. In most campaigns having a clear message is important but this coming election the policies may take a back seat to just voting against Trump. The economy, which is normally a top issue, is good so it will be less important. People are more motivated by what is wrong. The saying goes that people are passively for and actively against.

Census 2020

The controversy surrounding the upcoming census centers around the question of citizenship. For 200 years the question was on the census until President Obama removed it for the 2010 census. Trump has decided to bring back the question for the 2020 census but the court has ruled against him. The question asks if the person is a US citizen and thus determines how many electoral votes each state will have. These are the votes that determine who is elected to the presidency. If this question is not asked then non-citizens will indirectly vote for president. In addition states will be awarded federal government funds based on the total population not just the number of citizens.

Deregulation

Case study on deregulation. In my early years I worked for a large corporation and was moved 8 times in 14 years. Each time I would contact a lady in the home office and she would work with me on the move. It did not matter which moving company I selected as the price was the same and was determined by government regulations. The trucking companies were happy with this arrangement as it allowed all of them to make a profit. Years later after I left the company the industry was deregulated. This was in 1980 and the immediate result was competition which lowered the cost of moving and by significant amounts. While it became cheaper to move the quality of movers was not as good. Some movers saved money by not having proper insurance and some customers were hurt when accidents occurred. Some movers did not have qualified workers and often times personal property was damaged. While competition lowered the price of moving the cost in other ways could be costly so the mover was required to shop for quality and service to get the best deal but they had that option.

Dependency

Saying that the upcoming election is about socialism vs capitalism is a bit misleading. A more appropriate way to phrase it is the difference in how the money changes hands. The candidates, for the most part, want to collect money from the taxpayers and then send it back to the people in a way they deemed is best. Trump feels it is better to let the taxpayers keep their money and in turn let them determine how best to spend it. The emphasis by Trump is good paying jobs and the others want to offer benefits. You are an adult when you start paying your own light bill and you need a good job to do that otherwise you remain dependent on someone else to take care of you.

Medicare for all

Here are some facts about Medicare for all. First it would reduce overall cost by lowering administrative cost. This includes the cost of advertising that goes along with competition in the private market. Second it would eliminate the jobs of some 2.6 million people who work in the private health care industry. Third payments would be determined by a government panel of experts. Fourth 180 million people would lose their private health care and the choices that go with it. A better option is to keep the existing private care system, offer insurance across state lines, reduce punitive damages in medical law suits, put all low income people on Medicaid and have sliding scale for cost starting at free for the lowest income group and going up by income. The overall cost will be higher but people will have a choice of the type of coverage they need because of competition. The treatment will be determined by the doctor/ patient relationship and the patient can chose the doctor and plan.

Iran bomb

The United States helped Iran start their nuclear program in the 1950's to build nuke power plants. In 1970 Iran signed the nuclear non proliferation treaty. Since that time they have been enriching uranium for power plant usage. In the 1990's Iran received tech help from Russia with their nuke program. After more than 20 years they have one nuke power plant with two more on the way. In 2000 it was reported that Iran was trying to further enrich uranium to use in weapons. In 2006 the UN demanded that Iran stop its nuke program. In 2011 the UN revealed that Iran had been working on a bomb since 2003. It takes less than 50 pounds of enriched uranium to build a bomb and they have been unable to do that in 16 years and thus it can be concluded that they are not trying to build a bomb. They are and have been using the threat to get various concessions and up until recently it has worked.

Cuba

Cuba and North Korea are communist nations and they are run by dictators. In 2014 President Obama removed the sanctions that had been place on Cuba for 50 plus years and visited the island and shook hands with Raul Castro. Obama felt that it was time to try a new approach. Recently President Trump became the first sitting president to visit North Korea where he shook hands with Kim Jung un but did not remove the sanctions. Trump felt it was time to try a new approach. Both of these communist leaders were tyrants who ruled with and iron hand

California taxes

Often times states are used as experiments for new ways of doing things. California is an example of what to expect if redistribution of income on a grand scale will work. The population of the state is 40 million and 150,000 individuals pay 50% of the state income tax. The state has the highest income tax rate in the country but it is woefully inadequate. The census measures factors in housing costs and well being with programs like food stamps and housing assistance. Altogether, the state government has made life for poor and middle class Californians nearly unbearable. While many claim the state is progressive it remains number one in poverty and inequality. California is like any other place in that there are too many poor and too few rich. Good jobs is the best equalizer not more benefits.